Hey, you Scripture memory fiends! I am so proud of you guys for keeping your numbers up with your second verses! There can be a really big drop out between the hype surrounding the first verse and the discipline that starts kicking in with the second verse. Stay at it, you guys. Not one of you will be sorry you did. No one is going to get to the finish line next December 15th and say it wasn’t worth the work. God is far more faithful than that. He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and diligently uses His Word to equip us in our callings (2 Timothy 3:16-17). He uses His Word to make us wiser, more aware of His will, more fortified against temptation, and more alive in His Spirit. He uses His Word to make us less gullible when our hearts are trying to deceive us, when someone we love is trying to mislead us or when Satan himself is trying to seduce us. Be encouraged. Not one ounce of your effort is wasted.
Here is the biggest key to accomplishing this task: throughout the entire process, continually ask God to enable you to memorize. In John 14:26, Christ tells His followers that the Holy Spirit is the one who will “bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Proactively taking Him up on this assurance has been strategic through the years I’ve memorized Scripture. Over and over I convey to God that I know only He can empower those inspired words on the page to find a permanent place in my memory and a home in the marrow of my bones. I call upon His Spirit in Jesus’ Name to stir up those verses in me and remind me of every word and phrase.
When you’re able to say your verse with any accuracy at all, start thanking Him. Do it right then. Completely engage in the relational side of your memory work. That will be by far the biggest success in this endeavor. God is after your heart, not just your mind. He’s not just looking for your discipline. He wants to be your desire. His aim is relationship. Ask Him to help you then thank Him when He does it. When you’re working on a beautiful verse, tell Him you think it’s beautiful. When you keep stumbling over one particular word, ask Him right then to help you get that phrase straight. His Word is God speaking to you so speak back. Use it as an invitation to dialogue. Is the verse really hard? Say to Him, “This verse is killing me here, Lord. I can’t seem to get it. Grant it to me. Help me with it.” Get what I’m saying? This way He gets all the glory in every success and we get immeasurable gain.
This I promise you: God’s objective for you and me in 2015 is not for us to memorize 24 verses. It’s for us to draw nearer and nearer to Him, love Him more, know Him more, trust Him more, and believe Him more. To let His Word go down deep where He wants it. To invite it fervently and proactively to abide in us and bring vivacious life to us. To meditate on His words and to prize them more than our daily bread. Job said it this way: “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food.” (Job 23:12b) That’s what these 24 verses are about. So, let’s engage with Jesus throughout the entire process. THAT, at the end of our journey, is what will determine our success.
I think I just changed my mind on what I want to present you for my 3rd verse. I am doing memory work out of the Book of Ephesians right now but I don’t happen to be on a verse that stands alone in a comprehensive enough way to offer it to someone to share. Mentioning Job in the previous paragraph stirred up in my memory how much I love that 23rd chapter. Savor the gorgeousness of verses 8-12. (ESV)
8      “Behold, I go forward, but He is not there,
and backward, but I do not perceive Him;
9Â Â Â Â Â Â on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him;
He turns to the right hand, but I do not see Him.
10Â Â Â Â Â Â But He knows the way that I take;
when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
11Â Â Â Â Â Â My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
12Â Â Â Â Â Â I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
Translation of verses 8-10??? I may not know where God is right now in my situation but of this I’m sure: He knows where I am. Isn’t that powerful? Then, behold the faith and steadfastness of Job in that 10th verse: because God is at work and is at the helm, “I will come forth as gold” (NIV). (If you get a chance, glance at how perfectly that concept corresponds with 1 Peter 1:7.) I believe Job 23:10 is the exact verse I want to choose this time around and I think I’ll use the NIV. So here goes:
Beth Moore, Houston, Texas. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. Job 23:10 NIV
Hit it, Girls.
So honored to study and memorize Scripture with you. Much, much love to you.
Kim, Nashville, TN:
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
John 15:9 (ESV)
Psalm 18:32 NIV
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
Allison, Santa Maria, CA
Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV)
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”
Meagan Smith, Longview, Texas. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. Job 23:10 NIV
Sarah, Colorado Springs CO
Deuteronomy 31:6 – Amplified
Be strong, courageous and firm; fear not nor be in terror before them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.
Sherri Bunch, Concord, NC. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13. (NIV)
Susan Holman, Farmington, Missouri
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 ESV
Caron, Duncanville, TX
Isaiah 41:13 NIV
For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Rebecca DeMoss, Cleveland, OH. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts. Haggai 2:9b NIV
Rose in San Antonio, TX
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (â€Romans‬ â€12‬:â€3‬ ESV)
Martha from Corpus Christi, Texas
For we know,brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you. 1 Thessalonians
1:4 NIV
“Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in.”
1 Peter 3:5
The Message
Oops! Linda N, Chester, VA
Lauren Sampsell Eagleville, TN “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'” Matthew 25:40 NLT
Forgot my city
Humble,Tx
Shari Dwyer, Rancho Viejo, TX.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
(Psalm 19:14 NIV)
Kingsport, TN
“O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! (â€Jeremiah‬ â€32‬:â€17‬ NLT)
Lisa S.
Kinston,NC
Psalm 5:1-3 NIV
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my request before you with expectation.
Anna Hamilton, Hickory Flat, MS, “For God who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NASB)
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 Jn 4:10-11)
A reminder to me in the month of love to love because He first loved me.
Shelley, Brigham City, Utah
To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds.
Ephesians 4:22,23 ESV
Tracey from Shawnee, KS
Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk and coarse jokes–these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. –Ephesians 5:3-4 (NLT)
Anita from Mission Viejo
Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Philippians 2:2 (NLT)
Medway, OH
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1Peter 4:10 (NIV)
Jane Sharp, Lascassas, TN, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with HIM in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages HE might show the incomparable riches of HIS grace, expressed in HIS kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2: 6-7 NIV
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10 NASB
Carol Stanford, Priceville AL
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1 ESV
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” Matthew 5:8
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 NIV
Samantha Lewis, LaCamp, LA
2 Corinthians 12:9New King James Version (NKJV)
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Jen Newsham. Longview, Texas. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” – Philippians‬ â€2‬:â€3‬ (ESV)
Kingsport, TN – Psalm 52:8 But I am like an olive treeflourishing in the house of God;I trust in God’s unfailing lovefor ever and ever. (NIV)
Ginger Forer, Leesville, LA
” But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold,”
Job 23:10
Don’t be afraid for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
-Isaiah 41:10
There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all and living through all.
Ephesians 4: 5-6 ASV
Michele – Lawrenceville, Ga
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. Ps 33:22 (NLT)
Karen F., The Woodlands, TX
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Linda G. Crawfordsville, Indiana
2 Chronicles 20:12
“O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”
Robyn, Celina, Ohio. “But He knows the way that I take;when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. “Job 23:10 NIV
Cheryl Swanson, Tulsa, OK. ..When you pass through the water, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2 (NIV).
Sheryl, Danville, KY
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
Caryn Brannen, Germantown, TN. “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
1 Peter 1:7
Stacy B., Greenfield, IN
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
2 Thess. 3:5 ESV
2Thessalonians 2:16-17 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.
Rachel H., North Alabama,
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (â€Galatians‬ â€5‬:â€13‬ ESV)
Dena’ Davis, Hindman, KY
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does The Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 NIV
Kathy Walden, Knightstown, IN
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, This is the way, walk in it.
Isaiah 30:21 NIV
Delores P., El Cajon, CA
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29 (ESV)
DeAnne, Talmage, KS “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.” Psalm 86:5 NIV
Erin, Lolo, MT
From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:2 NIV
Psalm 56:3 (NIV)
“When I am Afraid, I put my trust in you.”